Metal-strand machine.



W. G. STAPLES.

METAL STRAND MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001210, 1911.

1,063,895. Patented June a, 1913.

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W. G. STAPLES.

METAL STRAND mourns.

' APPLIOATION FILED 001. 10, 1911. 1,063,895 Patented June 3, 1913.

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WILLARD G. STAPLES, OF NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO FEDERALMETALLIC PACKING COMPANY, 013 BOSTON, LIASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 01?IVIASSACHUSETTS.

METAL-STRAND MACHINE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented June 3, 1913.

b all whom it may concern Be it known that I, W'uminn G. STA'PLFS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Newburyport, county of Essex,and State of bilassachusetts, have invented a new and useful improvementin Metal-Strand Machines, of which the following is a specification,reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to machines for making metallic strands,filaments or bands in which the strands, etc. are formed by throwing astream of molten metal upon a moving surface and in which the strandsare arranged and assembled in bundles of suitable length and is animprovement of the invention shown and described in Letters Patent No.989,075, dated April 11, 1911.

Metallic strands or filaments are employed to alarge extent in packingjoints, valve stems and piston-rods and similar devices and when so useda large number of strands or filaments are bunched together insubstantial parallelism or twisted into rope form. it is essential insuch cases that the metallic strands or filaments be arrangedsubstantially parallel to each other and the object of this invention isto provide means for arranging the continuous strand or filament, as itis thrown off the moving surface, into bundles of suitable length.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of myinvention, Figure 1 is a plan view of an a paratus eonstrueted andoperated in aecorc ance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevationof the same, looking upwardly in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofthe upper portion of the same looking from right to left in Fig. 1; Fig.dis a detail elevation partly in section, on an enlarged scale of themeans for feeding the molten metal to the moving surface to form thecontinuous strand, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views in elevation andplan respectively.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the strand formingmechanism comprises a reservoir 7 for molten metal and a rotatable diskS. The reservoir may be supported in any suitable frame 9 on a table orbench 10 which serves as a supporting frame for the machine. Underneaththe reservoir may be arranged a gas burner 11 to maintain the metal in amolten condition and the metal is delivered through a spout 12 to theedge 1 2 of the disk, the llow ol' the metal being controlled by a valve14-. A gas burner 15 is arranged to heat the nozzle to prevent the metalcooling as it flows out. To permit of rotation of the disk 8., it islnounted on a shaft it? supported at the base in a step bearing 17 andjournaled in a boxbearing 1%, the shaft being provided with a pulley l9which is connected by a belt 20 with any suitable driving means. Theedge 1; of the disk is cut away to form a grooved channel 21. which incross-section may be angular or curved to produce strands of varyingform in cross-section. When the disk is rotated and molten metal isallowed to flow through the nozzle, it strikes the edge of the disk inthe channel 21 and is cooled by contact therewith and thrown from therotating disk by centrifugal force in the form of a continuous strand orfiber. The size of the strand is regulated by adjusting the valve in thenozzle to control the amount of flow of the metal and the shape of thestrand in cross-section is determined by the cross sectioual form of thechannel. By these means strands of various sizes and cross-sectionalforms may be produced and the edge of the disk may be provided with anumber of channels of varying cross-section, which may be used byadjusting the nozzle. As shown in Fig. 4-, the point of the nozzle isarranged in close proximity to the channel in the disk edge.

For the purpose of gathering and ar ranging the strand in substantialparallelism and in bunches of suitable length, I provide the followingmechanism. On the table 1.0 is pivotally mounted at 22 a rod 23 carryingon its free end a downwardl y projecting hook 2 1 which is preferablyspoon-shaped and curved inwardly. M ans are provided for swinging therod around its pivot into the path of the strand as it is thrown fromthe disk 8, (see Fig. 1), and then back to carry the strand over ahorizontal right angled rod 26 mounted in the front edge of the table 10where the strand is deposited. Any suitable means may be employed foroperating the swing ing rod 23 and one such device is shown 1n thedrawings and comprises an eccentric 27 mounted on a shaft 28 supportedin suitable bearings 29 on the table 10. The eccentric has a groovedperimeter 30 and the rod is "held in said groove by an upright springrod 31 moving in a guideway 32 and connected to the swinging rod by acord 33. The eccentric is operated from the'shaft 16 by means of pulleys34 and 35 on the shafts 1(3 and 28 respectively and a belt 36. Theeccentric is so arranged that the swinging rod is above the disk 8 andoscillates over it to lay the strahd in a series of loops to form abundle 37 on the rod 26.

In practice my machine is operated in the following manner. The burners11 and 15 are lighted and when the metal in the reser voir has beenreduced toa molten state, the machine is started in operation by meansof the belt 20 connected to the driving means. The shaft 16 and disk 8are thereby rotated, the direction of rotation of the latter being inthe direction taken by the strand 25 as shown in Fig. 6. By opening andregulating the valve 14 a thin stream of molten metal is allowed to flowfrom the mouth of the nozzle 12, which is in close proximity to thechannel 21 in the edge of the disk, and

as the stream of metal strikes the moving edge of the disk'it is cooled,solidified and thrown therefrom in the form of a metallic strand orfiber which is continuous in form so long as the stream of metal isuninterrupted. As heretofore stated the size of the strand may be variedby changing the volume of flow of themetal and its cross-sectionalconfiguration may be modified by using channels of variouscross-sectional forms. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the strand thrown fromthe disk in a tangential direction and horizontally with considerableforce. 7

At the same time. that the strand forming disk 8 is rotated, theeccentric 27 mounted onthe shaft 28 is turned by the belt 36 and therebythe rod 23 which is held in the groove on the perimeter of the eccentricby the spring 31 and cord 33 is caused to oscillate. The spring 31 is atall times under tension and maintains the rod in place against theeccentric. In Fig. 1 the full lines show the position of the rod whenabout to engage the strand 25 and the dotted linesshow its positionafter it has completed its oscillating movement and has dropped thestrand on the support 26. As the rod oscillates toward thereservoir-thecurved hook 24 slides over the metal strand but when itreturns the hook catches the strand and carries it toward the rod orsupport 26, permitting it to drop thereon as it (the rod) starts backtoward the reservoir. Figs. 5

and 6 illustrate this operation and the manner in which'the strand iscarried by the hook. During this operation the strand is beingcontinuously formed and remains unbroken, the result being that it ishung over the support in aseries of loops as illustrated in Fig. 2.After a sullicient number of loops have been assembled together, thebundle is removed from the support and may be cut. The length of thebundle thus secured may be varied by changing the speed of theoscillating rod which may be accomplished by changing the relative sizesof the pulleys 34 and 35.

While the preferred embodin'mnt'of the present invention has beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown andtiescribed but may be otherwise embodied within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the following claims.

\Vhat 1 claim is 1. .ln apparatus of the character dcscribed, thecombination with means for forming and delivering a continuous metalstrand of an oscillating member for laying said strand over a suitablesupport in loops of suitable length.

2. In apparatus of the character de-' scribed, the combination withmeans for forming and delivering a continuous metal strand of anoscillating member provided with means for engaging said strand andmeans for oscillating said member to lay said strand over a support inloops of suitable'length.

3.1m apparatus of the character described, the combination with meansfor forming and delivering a continuous metal strand of an oscillatingmember provided with a curved end for engaging and carry-' mg saidstrand, a support and means for oscillating said member to lay saidstrand over said support to form loops of suitable length.

1. The combination with a strand forming mechanism of a rod pivotallymounted and having a hook on its free end for catching said strand as itis formed, means for oscillating said rod between the path of saidstrand and a support in order alternately to catch and'to deposit saidstrand in loops upon said support.

5; The combination with a strand forming mechanism of an oscillatingmember, an eccentric engaging said member and means for rotating saideccentric to oscillate said member.

6. The combination with a strand forming mechanism of an oscillatingmember, an eccentric engaging said member, means for holding saidoscillating member in engagement with said eccentric and means forrotating said eccentric to oscillate said member.

7. The combination with a strand forming mechanism of an oscillatingmember provided with a curved end to engage said strand as it isformedby said mechanism and means for oscillating said member in orderto carry said strand over a support and to drop it upon said support insuccessive operations.

8. The combination with a strand forming mechanism of a rod pivotallymounted '3 and having its free end provided with 21 hook, an eccentricengaging said rod to oscillate it, means for holding said rod inengagement with said eccentric and means for rotating said eccentric tooscillate said rod into the path of said strand as it is 10 thrown fromthe strand forming mechanism. In testimony whereof, I hereunto set myhand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this the fourth dayof October, 1911. WILLARD G. STAPLES.

Witnesses E. F. NUIAo, F. J. V. DAKIN.

